Research raises concerns over lung disease

The burden of the lung disease COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease) is far greater than thought, studies have revealed today.

Published in the medical journal The Lancet, they also show that deprivation and lung development in the womb contribute to the disease and that smoking cannot bear all of the blame.

One person in seven in the UK is affected by lung disease, and it is the country's second biggest killer.

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Researchers from the Oregon Health and Science University claim that COPD in many countries 'has generally been underestimated in the past'.

They also warn that as the world's population ages this burden is set to increase.

A separate study published in the same journal warns that passive smoking could cause 1.9 million excess deaths from COPD in China, while a third article argues that prevention of COPD may need to start right at the beginning of life as babies born with poor lung function are at risk of airflow obstruction as young adults.

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Commenting on the studies, Professor Michael Silverman from the University of Leicester and Dr Claudia Kuehni from the University of Bern said: 'As COPD is set globally to become the third most important cause of death, now is the time to add research into its earliest origins to the agenda.'

Dr Emiel Wouters of the University Hospital Maastricht added: 'With quantitative data already available, it is already clear that COPD is a major disease worldwide.

'Recognition of this fact obligates us to make efforts towards increasing public awareness and efforts toward the adoption of an integrated approach aimed at reducing or stabilising the present and future burden of disease generated by COPD.'

Responding to the reports, Dame Helena Shovelton, chief executive of the British Lung Foundation (BLF), said: 'There are people with COPD who have never smoked and this research shows that deprivation, dust exposure and lung development in the womb play a vital role in causing the disease.'

The BLF is calling for further research into the environmental, socioeconomic and other factors that can cause COPD.

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